Archive for April, 2014

The Master Gunner was in charge of all guns, shot and gunpowder on the ship. He was also responsible for training of the gunnery crews. His skeleton was found within the wreckage and could be identified by his clothes and the tools he was carrying. His cabin was identified by his chest which contained the Gunners tools.

The Master Gunners chest

Among the items found in the chest were a guage for iron shot (14). Using this the shot were checked to ensure that they were the correct size for the cannon. The journal cover (12) and the rings (16) indicate that like the Master Carpenter, the Gunner was an educated man of some wealth.

Abbotsbury Swannery near Weymouth in Dorset is unique in being the only managed nesting colony of Mute Swans in the world. There are usually around 150 nesting pairs with a total count of around 600, although the peak recorded count was 900 birds. This is an unusual place as nesting swans are usually fiercly territorial and would not normally allow other swans or humans to get close to their nests. In July when the birds are flightless they are herded into pens and checked, weighed and ringed.

Occasionally an escaped swan finds it way to the swannery, in this case a Black swan escaped from a wildfowl collection.

The earliest record of the swannery was as part of a monastic institution in 1393. Upon the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, the swannery was purchased by the Strangeways family and it has remained in the family until this time.

Off to visit Fingrinhoe Wick today with RSPB group. This is an Essex Wildlife Trust reserve, south east of Colchester, on old quarry workings beside the River Colne. It has a mixture of habitats including the river and its marshes, a lake, woodland and heathland.

The Colne Estuary

Heathland

The Lake

I had two main targets today – to hear Nightingale (rarely seen) and to photograph Green Hairstreak Butterfly. Both specialities of this reserve. Well it was clear from the outset that the weather was not favourable for the second as it was cold wet and windy and in fact I didn’t see a single butterfly all day long. It didn’t take long however to satisfy the first target as near the Lake hide a male was singing his characteristic song whilst hidden in the undergrowth. By the end of the day I reckon I had probably heard 8-10 singing males in different parts of the reserve and I did see one briefly as it flew into a bush and thenproceeded to sing at me. Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were also present. On the River were a small number of waders and some Little Egrets.

Little Egret

Oystercatcher

Barn Swallow

The highlight of the day was definitely the number and song of the Nightingales as this bird is becoming scarcer in the UK every year and this is on of their remaining strongholds.

One of the amazing things about the Mary Rose excavation was thta as they came across the artefacts they were able to work out exactly whose cabin they were looking at from the nature of the things they found.

The cabin identified as that of the Master Carpenter was the largest one found on the main deck of the ship. Interestingly, it showed signs that at some point in the ship’s life the cabin had been modified to improve the conditions. It was a metre longer than the original cabin and next the window had been cut into the side of the ship to provide more light. Who better than the master carpenter to make such changes to his conditions?

The occupant of the cabin was identified by a large wooden trunk which was found to contain a large collection of carpenters tools.

But you also get an insight into the life of the carpenter. He was obviously a skilled craftsman to hold such a post, but at the same time he was obviously quite a wealthy man as a number of fine pewter items were also found in the cabin.

Amongst the other things found in the cabin was a ‘tables’ board. This is an early version of the game which would subsequently developed into backgammon.

For the contents of this cabin we can conclude that the master carpenter, was a senior officer on the ship, well rewarded for the level of skilled craftsmanship which was required.

I was recently asked to write a short piece on where I would most like to visit – archaeologically speaking. It came down to two sites Lachish in Israel or Carchemish in Turkey/Syria. Here is what I wrote about my choice.

The Battle of Carchemish
The site of the city of Carchemish lies on the banks of the River Euphrates. It originated in the Hittite empire and expanded over time. 3 distinct phases can be identified, a nuclear tell area or citadel, a surrounding area dating to the Hittite empire (early Iron age) and an expansion area dating to the Assyrian period . There are also Roman structures on the site. Excavations of the site ended in 1920 following the Turkish war as the site straddles the border of Syria and Turkey and it has remained a military zone since that date with no access. A new excavation in the Turkish section of the outer city was begun in 2010 although the citadel area remains under military control. Part of the outer city is within Syrian territory and is still off limits to archaeologists.

The city of Carchemish was an important commercial site and border stronghold on the river Euphrates in the Iron age. As well as the potential trade opportunities (it had road links to Damascus and Nineveh), it was also a strategic stronghold for controlling access the Euphrates into the Assyrian empire.
The Battle of Carchemish occurred in 605 BCE. Most of the Assyrian empire had fallen to the Babylonian King Nabopolassar. The capital city of Nineveh and its successor Harran had been captured and so the Assyrian King Assur-ubalit and the remnant of his army relocated to Carchemish. Carchemish had been an Assyrian city but at this stage is thought to have been garrisoned by the Egyptians following the Assyrian withdrawal from Eber-Nari (‘the land over the River’) in 615-610 BCE. It was here that the Assyrian empire made its final stand. The armies of Assyria, aided by an army from Egypt under the Pharaoh Necho II, met with Babylonian forces under the command of Nebuchadnezzar II. The Egyptian –Assyrian army was defeated, the city was besieged and eventually fell.
The Babylonian Chronicles, now housed in the British Museum, claim that Nebuchadnezzar “crossed the river to go against the Egyptian army which lay in Carchemish. The armies fought with each other and the Egyptian army withdrew before him. He accomplished their defeat and beat them to nonexistence. As for the rest of the Egyptian army which had escaped from the defeat so quickly that no weapon had reached them, the Babylonians overtook and defeated them in the district of Hamath so that not a single man escaped to his own country.
Why is this my choice?
This battle marks a profound change in the status of the ancient world. The Assyrian empire, dominant in the region for thousands of years had been swept away. The might of the Egyptian army had been broken and they retreated back to their border in the south allowing the Babylonians to take control of the lands of Syria, Phoenicia, Philistia and Judea (These had been part of the Assyrian empire but were coveted by the Egyptians as a security ‘buffer zone’ to the northern empires). Although they remained independent, they too would soon fall under the Persians and in turn Greek and Roman rulers. I think this battle can clearly be seen as a major turning point in ancient history.
Apart from its place in history, I am fascinated by the fact that this site is largely unexplored by archaeology in modern times and so has much still to tell us about the people who lived here; their culture and the effects on the city of the battle and the siege.

The chance to pop into the London Wetland Centre for a couple of hours and what a couple of hours they turned out to be.

Redshank

With the arrival of migrants there were lots of first sightings for the year on offer.A small flock of Sand Martins were joined briefly by a single House Martin and a Swallow. From the Tower hide Redshank, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper were all seen fairly quickly. Then our attention was drawn to a bird by the marsh land fence. A Large upright female Wheatear whose colouring suggested the Greenland race of the species rather than the nominate race which is most commonly sen in the UK.

Female Wheatear (Greenland race)

Female Wheatear (Greenland race)

Female Wheatear (Greenland race)

In all 38 species of birds and 4 species of Butterfly seen in just under two hours.

The Mary Rose Bell is one of the few objects excavated, which date from the launch of the ship in 1511. It is made of bronze and is of Flemish origin, coming from a foundery near Antwerp. The inscription on it reads ‘I was made in the year 1510’. It was used on board to ring the passing of time and so to inform the sailors and soldiers of the change of the watch.

This statue of Robert Falcon Scott stands at the entrance to Portsmouth Naval Dockyard. It was sculpted by Kathleen Scott, his widow, a well known British sculptor of the time 2 years after his death in 1912.

Robert Falcon Scott was born in 1868. He joined the Navy and went to active service following training in 1883 at the age of 15. In 1893 he qualified as a torpedo officer and spent his active service on torpedo boats, He led his first Antarctic expedition in 1901. This was both a scientific and an exploration and during their time in the Antarctic much was achieved. Although they reached the Polar plateau there was no attempt to reach the pole. They returned home in 1904.

Scott returned to the Antarctic in 1910 and finally reached the South pole with 4 companions on 17th January 1912 only to find that a Norwegian expedition had arrived there 4 weeks earlier. Tragically on the return journey Scott and his 4 companions perished.